Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 24, 2015

Metropolitan Transportation Authority delays opening of new No 7 subway station on Far West Side of Manhattan until July 2015 to finish testing communications system and fire alarm. MORE

Mar. 20, 2015

Widespread problems across New York City subway system have left commuters frustrated just ahead of scheduled fare increase, leading some to complain about paying more for poor service. MORE

Mar. 1, 2015

App City column on Tic Toc Transit, app that alerts user to when their subway train is coming. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Thomas F Prendergast moves to reassure New Yorkers alarmed about potential slump in service due to $15 billion gap in agency's five-year capital plan; says transit officials and elected leaders are in talks about how to find alternative funding or pare down costs. MORE

Feb. 23, 2015

Editorial calls attention to deep budget shortfall at Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which must make up some $15 billion in order to repair New York City's rapidly deteriorating transit system; urges New York State Gov Andrew M Cuomo to create five-year capital plan for the organization. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents New York City's bus drivers, is fighting to exempt them from law that penalizes drivers who fail to yield and injure or kill pedestrians; union says law unfairly vilifies bus operators like Francisco DeJesus, who was arrested after striking 15-year-old girl in Brooklyn; law is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero initiative to reduce pedestrian deaths. MORE

Feb. 14, 2015

Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus driver Francisco DeJesus is arrested and charged with failure to yield after his bus strikes and severely injures 15-year-old girl in Brooklyn crosswalk. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board votes to raise base fare on subway and bus rides by a quarter, to $2.75, and cost of 30-day MetroCard by $4.50, to $116.50; increases are set to take effect March 22, 2015, and are part of authority's long-term revenue strategy. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Fellow officers gather at funeral for Metropolitan Transportation Authority Officer Thomas Choi of MTA's Bridges and Tunnels agency; Choi was struck by a car on Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 2013 and succumbed to his injuries in December 2014. MORE

Jan. 1, 2015

Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it is disabling emergency exit sirens at all of its subway stations, acknowledging that sirens have done little to discourage fare evasion. MORE

Dec. 29, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority is starting new subway etiquette campaign and New York Times readers list their top grievances; tops on list include door hogs, pole huggers, poor grooming and litterbugs. MORE

Dec. 21, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority in January 2015 will unveil public service ads aimed at curbing rude behavior like spreading legs wide and wearing large backpacks on crowded trains; over 6.1 million people ride New York City's subway on a single day, leaving little leg room. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking to punish four unionized workers for failing to repair track that caused F subway train to derail in Queens in May 2014, injuring 30 passengers and two crew members; derailment was the most serious one in city subway system in more than two decades. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

MetroCard glitch disrupts travel for nearly 10,000 Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North commuters when coding error in December monthly passes renders them worthless; authority tells affected commuters they must buy new monthly MetroCard on their own and await adjustment of their December charges. MORE

Nov. 18, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority releases plans for higher fares and tolls as part of its long-term revenue plans; authority has scheduled eight public hearings in city and suburbs to solicit response from riders and drivers about proposed 4 percent rise, which MTA officials say is lower than planned because of improved financial outlook. MORE

Nov. 17, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is expected to discuss proposals for 4 percent increase in fares and tolls across system, scheduled to rise every two years as part of long-term revenue plans; riders will have a chance to weigh in at public hearings in December. MORE

Oct. 18, 2014

William J Ronan, the architect and first chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and one of the most powerful officials in modern history of New York State, dies at age 101. MORE

Oct. 17, 2014

Group of cyclists and transportation advocates hope to persuade Metropolitan Transportation Authority to open pedestrian and bike lane on Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, connecting Staten Island with Brooklyn and completing 50-mile 'Harbor Ring' path, which would allow cyclists to circumnavigate New York Harbor. MORE

Oct. 16, 2014

David W Dunlap Building Blocks column praises proliferation of public artwork along the West End line of Brooklyn's D train, between Sunset Park and Coney Island; notes that works, commissioned by the Arts and Design program of the Metropolitan Transportation authority, include mosaics, cast-bronze bees and even a 20-foot-long translucent hot dog. MORE

Oct. 15, 2014

Emergency subway exit is used by man in smoke bomb attack at Avenue of the Americas and Third Street in the West Village, outside Bar Pitti restaurant; police have not identified motive or suspect, and case raises security concerns for Metropolitan Transportation Authority. MORE

Oct. 4, 2014

Editorial calls for city, state and federal officials to devise new strategies to raise much-needed funds for Metropolitan Transportation Authority; observes MTA's many needs, including improved safety mechanisms, additional stations in Bronx and protection against hurricanes, will cost $32 billion over five years; says effort will require new thinking about how to cut costs and raise revenues. MORE

Oct. 3, 2014

Manhattan West residents are excited at the prospect of new subway lines, while East-siders are skeptical; Second Avenue line has been staggering and stalling since 1929, when the city first decided it should be built; decision to roll the No. 7 train toward the Hudson River was not made until 2009. MORE

Sep. 28, 2014

Mary Hedge, archivist at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bridges and Tunnels Special Archive, preserves nearly a century of materials documenting the planning and construction of New York City's infrastructure; Hedge is putting together exhibition to mark 50th birthday of Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, opening at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn in October. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveils latest capital proposal; budget estimates cost of maintaining New York City's aging transit system at $32 billion, which outpaces available funding by more than $15 billion; record-setting budget gap is topic of considerable discussion at board meeting. MORE

Sep. 20, 2014

American Freedom Defense Initiative, pro-Israel group behind public transit advertisement that refers to Muslims killing Jews, plans to sue the Metropolitan Transportation Authority because it rejected ad; MTA says ad would be seen as a call to violence against Jews amid turmoil in the Middle East and security concerns in New York City. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Thomas F Prendergast says MTA plans to proceed with Phase Two of the Second Avenue subway project, which is an extension to 125th Street, as part of its proposed five-year capital plan to be presented to its board. MORE

Jul. 17, 2014

Riders on the Long Island Rail Road are weighing onerous contingency plans as strike deadline nears; broken ticket machines, unforgiving conductors and rising fares seem like minor inconveniences compared to hours-long car or bus commutes on traffic-plagued Long Island Expressway in the event of a strike. MORE

Jul. 17, 2014

News analysis; threat by Long Island Rail Road’s unions to walk off the job has unusually high stakes, potentially creating havoc for tens of thousands of commuters; unions are confident they have upper hand in negotiations, but Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seizing on public’s frequent resentment toward unions to portray them as greedy. MORE

Jul. 15, 2014

Negotiations between Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its unions appear to collapse just six days before possible strike by Long Island Rail Road workers; MTA has offered unions 17 percent raises spread over seven years, with proposed concessions from workers that include changes in how much employees contribute to their health care; unions leaders say that is unacceptable. MORE

Jul. 14, 2014

Thirteen artists participate in MTA Zine Residency event, creating self-published, hand-made periodicals while riding the F subway line; event was organized by librarian and archivist at Barnard College library, which is said to maintain largest circulating collection of zines in an academic library. MORE

Jul. 12, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority issues contingency plans in case of Long Island Rail Road strike; alternatives include mix of buses, ferries and other measures, but officials caution that working from home or taking vacation might be best for commuters. MORE

Jul. 12, 2014

Editorial calls for New York Gov Andrew Cuomo to intervene in labor talks between railroad workers union and Metropolitan Transportation Authority in effort to help resolve dispute and prevent possible strike on Long Island Rail Road; holds that while White House has supported union's proposal for pay increases, issue is state concern rather than a federal one. MORE

Jul. 10, 2014

Congressional leaders, in meeting with Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Thomas F Prendergast, say they are unlikely to intervene on either side in dispute between Long Island Rail Road and its unions; transportation experts are turning their attention to New York Gov Andrew M Cuomo, who has intervened in past labor disputes. MORE

Jun. 25, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority, fearing strike on the Long Island Rail Road, says it has expanded its offer to union leaders with raises of 17 percent over seven years. MORE

Jun. 24, 2014

Fulton Street Transit Center and new subway station at 34th Street and 11th Avenue, two of biggest transit projects in New York City, are poised to miss approaching deadlines; they are the latest in a string of delays involving Metropolitan Transportation Authority capital projects. MORE

Jun. 21, 2014

May. 22, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority approves contract with Transport Workers Union Local 100, officially ending long-running dispute with its largest transit union, but conflict with employees of Long Island Rail Road appears as intractable as ever; MTA officials are grappling with decision of federal mediation panel to reject authority's contract proposal for LIRR workers. MORE

May. 20, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority may need to extend life of the MetroCard payment system beyond 2020; officials say they will decide on design for new payment system in 2014 and begin phasing it in by late 2016 or early 2017, allowing an overlap with the MetroCard for about three years; authority has previously said current system cannot be maintained in state of good repair beyond 2019 without more spending. MORE

May. 16, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it will add 33 round trips on the L line on Saturdays and 22 on Sundays beginning in the fall, helping to relieve persistent overcrowding; three weekday evening trips will also be added. MORE

May. 1, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority says that it will remove longtime president of Long Island Rail Road, Helena E Williams, upending leadership of agency mired in labor negotiations; Williams will be replaced by Patrick A Nowakowski. MORE

Apr. 24, 2014

Newly released document reveals that Metropolitan Transportation Authority's labor contract deal reached with New York City's subway and bus workers will cost $525 million over next four years; document also shows that transportation authority will pay for raises by redirecting some money from pension and health care funds. MORE

Apr. 17, 2014

Local 100 of Transport Workers Union, representing New York City’s subway and bus workers, continues to be involved in intense negotiations with Metropolitan Transportation Authority more than two years after contract expired; appears on cusp of reaching new contract. MORE

Apr. 10, 2014

Two Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officers, Luis Alvarez and Errold Borges, rescue dog after it ran more-than-mile-long path of Hudson Line train from the Bronx to Upper Manhattan. MORE

Mar. 24, 2014

Data released by Metropolitan Transportation Authority shows ridership on L train increased at every station in 2013, with authority adding service during rush hours and off-peak periods and making various upgrades; improvements do not dampen debate over train, which is both considered creative id of a new Brooklyn, and rumbling monument to gentrification's curse. MORE

Mar. 19, 2014

Editorial criticizes budget proposal by New York Gov Andrew Cuomo that would skim $40 million from a fund that provides much-needed dollars to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; warns that cut would come as subways and other parts of transit system are already suffering from age, crowding, and poor maintenance. MORE

Mar. 11, 2014

James Romansoff, a Metro-North Railroad worker, is struck and killed by a train in East Harlem, the latest in a string of devastating accidents for the railroad over the past year; National Transportation Safety Board is starting an investigation into the accident along with MTA's police department. MORE

Feb. 27, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority votes to reduce Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll for Staten Island residents despite strong criticism from former MTA chairman, Richard Ravitch; he had argued that cuts will violate state law obligating board members to represent best interests of the authority, even when that conflicts with wishes of elected officials who appointed them. MORE

Feb. 13, 2014

Stolen truck collides with New York City bus in West Village, sending both vehicles onto sidewalk where they smash into building on corner of Seventh Avenue and 14th Street; driver of MTA bus, William Pena, is ejected from cab and pronounced dead at scene; five others, including driver of stolen truck, Domonic Whilby of Georgia, are injured; police say charges against Whilby are pending. MORE

Jan. 28, 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority says that long-delayed project connecting Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal may now have to wait until 2023; cost for the project could exceed $10.7 billion, according to an estimate from the Federal Transit Administration; officials had expected project to be finished by the end of 2013. MORE